Fast food places are always rotating their menus, whether for seasonal food availability or just because certain items aren’t performing as anticipated. We all have our missed fast foods and I’ll bet you could go for something on this list!

9 – Dessert Pizza (Pizza Hut)

You had me at hello.

Imagine pie as a pizza. Bam. Dessert Pizza. This was the best offering Pizza Hut ever had, but it’s long gone. The Pizza Hut I frequented had cherry and apple, but I’ve read online that blueberry was also an option. Dessert Pizza was just a regular pizza crust, but loaded up with pie filling, topped with a brown sugar oatmeal crumble and that vanilla frosting often found on cinnamon buns. Ordering a half-and-half (half apple, half cherry) was your best bet. The only reason I suffered through Pizza Hut was to get to that tasty half-and-half dessert pizza waiting for me at the end of the ordeal.

8 – Grecian Bread (KFC)

Not actual KFC Grecian Bread, but I’d eat the hell out of this, too.

Buttered bread. That’s what it was. But you know what? It was delicious, soft, and warm. There seems to be a lack of bread options at KFCs here in Canada (I guess they figured they already have enough menu items rich in carbs), proving that nothing can take the place of Grecian Bread.

7 – Sonic Pickle-O’s (Sonic)

Not Pickle-O’s, but likely the inspiration (ignore timelines).

Either you love deep fried pickles, or you’re wrong. Either way, Sonic used to sell fried pickles—not a common menu item for fast food chains, but it really should be. More pub fare than anything, Sonic’s fried pickles were round slices (hence the “O” in the name) in stead of spears. This makes eating them (and dipping them in spicy mustard or ranch) much easier. The pickles made a comeback in 2003 for the chain’s 50th birthday celebration. Here’s hoping the “Limited Time” promotion coincides with the McRib.

6 – Shake ‘em up Fries (Burger King)

Finally, I don’t have to rip open a box of Kraft Dinner for cheesy fries flavoring!

For those that enjoy a little more outside flavor to their fries, Burger King offered Shake ‘em up Fries in 2002. In addition to a sac ‘o fries, customers were given a packet of cheese powder. You just sprinkled the seasoning into the bag and shook ‘em up. Bam. Cheese fries. It seems simple, almost too simple… almost like Burger King really phoned this promotion in.

5 – Frings (Jack in the Box)

Truly the best of both worlds.

Frings is a portmanteau (triple word score!) of exactly what you get—French fries and onion rings. You know how amazing it is when you order fries and a couple onion rings sneak in there? Or order onion rings and manage to get a couple bonus fries? Frings capitalized on that feeling, offering consumers a half order of fries and a half order of onion rings. Why isn’t this still a thing? Sometimes you want both, but you don’t need that smarmy clerk judging you. It’s glandular, I swear! Two orders of chicken nuggets please…

4 – Bell Beefer (Taco Bell)

Tacos and burgers, together at last.

A hilarious name and a tasty burger taco… thing. The Bell Beefer was pretty much taco innards housed inside a hamburger bun that many fondly remember from the 1980s. Perhaps a little easier to eat, but it fell off the menu due to the price of bread and just the nuisance of keeping bread in stock (when it was only used for one menu item). Every place else had burgers, why should Taco Bell? There is a trick to eating it again, though—deconstruct a Burrito Supreme (minus beans and sour cream) and slap that onto a hamburger bun. Nom. Add some Border Sauce, because you know you want to.

3 – Meatloaf Specialty Sandwich (Burger King)

Yeah, I can’t imagine why no other fast food joint would have this on the menu…

In 1992, Burger King introduced the Meatloaf Specialty Sandwich, which went right along with their push for table service, similar to what McDonald’s was going for at the time. Obviously neither of these initiatives worked out for Burger King. The sandwich was a flame-broiled meatloaf patty serviced with ketchup and onions. I’d say they tried their hardest to make the Meatloaf Specialty Sandwich work, but they roped Bob Uecker into being the spokesperson and managed to make this the least cool-looking sandwich of all time. Was it good? I have no idea. I was over at McDonald’s ordering a cheeseburger. Extra pickles.

2 – SuperBar (Wendy’s)

Offering all-you-can-eat at a fast food place? Are you unaware of your market?

Introduced in 1979, the SuperBar was a glorified salad bar. A neat addition to have in a sit-down restaurant, but I don’t remember ever eating anything from it. I remember there being one at the Wendy’s my parents used to take me to when I was little, but I don’t remember seeing anyone use it. Thinking back, maybe it was gone by that time and they just left the bars as a reminder of what once was. Besides salads, patrons could load up on pasta, Mexican food, and pudding. While it is missed, the SuperBar just wasn’t a viable option in the world of fast food.

1 – Frito Burrito (Taco Bell)

More foods need Fritos added to them. True story.

What is the perfect addition to any sandwich? Smashing some chips all up in there. This is the concept Taco Bell took and ran with in the Frito Burrito. If you think it sounds like something from Idiocracy, that’s because it also looks like something straight out of the film. The Frito Burrito was a chilli cheese burrito, but with a big ol’ handful of Fritos wrapped up tight. It was also available in slop-bowl form. I could definitely go for that… just after I undo the button on these pants…

Good news! Depending on where you live and what your local fast food joints offer, some of these are still available!The Pizza Huts in my area have buffets every weekday and there are usually dessert pizzas on them. Not sure how it is anywhere else.You can still get frings at most places that offer both fries and rings(like Burger King), just ask for a fring. If they give you a strange look, tell them half fries, half rings.Frito burritos are still available from Taco Bell, I believe.

“Either you love deep fried pickles, or you’re wrong.” Truth. I love fried pickles, my wife loves fried pickles, most of our friends love fried pickles, yet somehow whenever I mention it to someone who’s never tried it they always pull a “that sounds disgusting” face. After I hold them down and shove a handful of fried pickle chips into their mouths (or quarter spears, depending on the location) they always change their tune.
And the Frito Burrito “bowl version” is just Frito Pie. I had a conversation with shezcrafti about that a while ago on Twitter as she’d never heard of it. I still get it regularly at a BBQ place near my apartment. Some things about living in the South are amazing.

Fried Pickles are amazing. There is this place I go to in Myrtle Beach (where I vacation at least once every year) called Bubba’s Fish Shack that serves fried “Pickle Nickles” named for their small size. They serve them with some kind of ranch dressing and the shit is addictive.

shezcrafti That place just sounds amazing. Any seafood place with a name like that has got to be delicious.
Most places around here sell some form of fried pickles, but my favorite is probably at the Alamo Drafthouse. They do spears, which is OK even though I prefer chips, because the batter is delicious and they also come with ranch. Combo that with a Porky’s Pizza and a good movie and it’s one of my favorite meals ever.

I have to agree with the fried pickle love. There’s a place here in Atlanta Called the Vortex. Building shaped like a giant skull and they have the best fried pickles I’ve ever had. I also miss the fried apple wedges at sonic…